Last #throwbackthursday I detailed how Videogaming as a child has aided my hand-eye coordination as an adult. Today we’ll go into how gaming as a kid may have subliminally helped me in yet another aspect of my day to day life: Sharing!

It’s a Friday afternoon in 1994, and me and my older brother have been waiting patiently for our dad to get home to take us to the video store, as he had promised last week he would let us rent a game. He gets home and after some settling in is finally ready to deliver on his promise, and so off we go to our local movie/videogame rental spot: Video USA! We skim through the racks of games, uncertain of what to take home when suddenly, like a beam of light shining in the dark….

The choice was obvious, the transaction  complete and we hurry home. STEP ON IT DAD!!

But Megaman is a one player game…a system must be implemen-“I’M FIRST!” Welp….rules are rules. I guess my brother goes first. -__-

He makes his way through the introductory first stage, but misses a jump and falls into the abyss. one life down….after a brief pause he passes the control. I encounter a robotic bumble bee and get blown away…I pass the control. My brother conquers every obstacle and completes the level, we’re off to the next stage! again, a pause…perhaps even some hesitation.. however even in victory, the controller is passed. It’s humble, it’s selfless, it’s unspoken, and it’s concrete!

Implementing this new method, my brother and I manage to defeat Sigma and the robot masters over the course of the two day allotted rental period. Although Megaman had to return to the video store…the “Pass and Play” method was to remain for years to come.

I’m not saying videogames entirely taught me to share, But I’m a firm believer it played a role.  Maybe the next game you play with your kids can be a one player game. Practice sharing the fun in victory, and defeat!

Next week we touch on a related topic. Teamwork!